Curb illicit finance, State urged

TRYNESS TEMBO, Lusaka
FORMER Bank of Zambia governor Caleb Fundanga has called on Government to put up strong remedies in the banking sector to curb illicit finance in the country.
Last week, African Development Bank (AfDB) president Akinwumi Adesina said over US$50 billion is being siphoned out of Africa through tax avoidance and evasion.
Dr Fundanga said to fight illicit finance, Government needs to partner with international tax co-operation and other countries to help improve the countryâ€™s standards in dealing with perpetrators of the vice.
He said in an interview last week that once Zambia enters into partnerships with other countries, it will help the country to easily capture and recover money from perpetrators of the vice.
â€œTo curb illicit finance, seeing that most of the flows go through the financial sector, there is need to put up a strong regime in the banking sector to identify these illegal activities and report to the necessary authorities,â€ he said.
Dr Fundanga said Zambia alone cannot manage to capture and prevent perpetrators of the vice because it does not have capacity to do so.
Meanwhile, he said for the countryâ€™s industrialisation programme to be actualised, there is need for commitment from leaders in authoritative positions.
He said once leaders are committed, things will move because they have the resources and power.
Dr Fundanga said the country has come up with several documents on industrialisation but these have remained on the shelves because of lack of commitment.
â€œAs a country, we have good plans but they remain on the drawing board for far too long. There is need for commitment by leaders to ensure that the industrialisation process is realised,â€ he said.